The new film works by a process called radiative cooling. This takes
advantage of that fact that Earth’s atmosphere allows certain wavelengths
of heat-carrying infrared radiation to escape into space unimpeded. Convert
unwanted heat into infrared of the correct wavelength, then, and you can
dump it into the cosmos with no come back.
the work is done by the huge temperature difference, about 290°C, between
the surface of the Earth and that of outer space.
If you floated thousands of square miles of it on the surface of the oceans, yes. But that first assumes a reasonable time payback of the CO2 burden of manufacturing the stuff in the first place, which is not a given. It's obviously not practical for oceans, but it might protect ice caps and glaciers.
Comments
Did you read the article?
Could we cover large portions of the Earth with this material and reverse global warming?
Probably wouldn't be cost-effective, but it'd work in principle.
If you floated thousands of square miles of it on the surface of the oceans, yes. But that first assumes a reasonable time payback of the CO2 burden of manufacturing the stuff in the first place, which is not a given. It's obviously not practical for oceans, but it might protect ice caps and glaciers.